Genetic Drift and HIV Essay examples

Genetic drift can completely eliminate an allele from a population. Genetic drift is one of the mechanisms of evolution, along with descent with modification, mutation, migration, and natural selection (Mechanisms: The Processes of Evolution). Benefits and drawbacks can come from genetic drift.
When a population's genetic makeup is changed randomly, it is called genetic drift. In natural selection, environment is the selection agent but in genetic drift, chance is the selection agent (Nowicki 305). Since genetic drift is controlled by chance, smaller populations are more prone to being affected by genetic drift. If someone flips a coin six times, the results will not always be split between heads and tails at fifty percent. Although if someone flips a coin one thousand times, the percentage of heads and tails will be closer to fifty percent (Small Population Side Effects). Genetic drift can start from things called the bottleneck effect or the founder effect (Nowicki 336).
The bottleneck effect can make a population small enough for genetic drift to affect it. Nowicki writes, "The bottleneck effect is genetic drift that occurs after an event greatly reduces the size of a population." (Nowicki 336). These events could include natural disasters like earthquakes, or it could be overhunting. In the 1890's northern elephant seals were massively hunted, much less than the southern elephant seals. This hunting brought the northern elephant seal count down to approximately 20 seals. Even now, you can see the effects from that occurrence of the bottleneck effect. The southern elephant seals, who were not hunted as much, are extremely more genetically diverse than the northern elephant seals. After the event, some of the alleles become fixe...

Evolution: Mutation, Natural Selection, Genetic Drift and Gene Flow Essay
- What is evolution and how does it work. Evolution is the theory of how one form of life changes into another form. Evolution also is the change of a population’s inherited traits from generation to generation. Evolution helps to explain why an animal, human, and plant looks the way it does and acts the way it does; it gives an explanation of the history of life. Genes come in many varieties and the evolution helps to make it happen. Mutation, natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow: the four forces that make the evolution work.... [tags: Process of Evolution]

HIV and AIDS Essay
- The Effects of HIV Mutations on the Immune System is deadly. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. HIV is classified as a RNA Retrovirus. A retrovirus uses RNA templates to produce DNA. For example, within the core of HIV is a double molecule of ribonucleic acid, RNA. When the virus invades a cell, this genetic material is replicated in the form of DNA. But, in order to do so, HIV must first be able to produce a particular Enzyme that can construct a DNA molecule using an RNA template. This enzyme, Called RNA-directed DNA polymerase, is also referred to as reverse Transcriptase because it reverses the normal cellular process of Transcription.... [tags: HIV and AIDS]

HIV and AIDS Essays
- HIV/AIDS INTRODUCTION At the beginning of the 20th Century it was believed by many, including the United States Patent Office, that there was nothing else to invent. Now, 100 years later at the beginning of the new millenium the ancient Egyptian philosopher is more relevant, "there is nothing new under the Sun". While HIV/AIDS may be a new disease, there is nothing new about a novel epidemic, which can potentially or actually decimate a population. In the late middle ages, the Black, now known as the Bubonic Plague, swept through Europe killing virtually half the population.... [tags: STD, HIV, AIDS]

HIV Essay
- HIV People who inherit only one copy of a mutated gene that has an effect on HIV's ability to enter CD4 T-helper cells appear to be substantially less likely to become infected with the virus, according to a new report by researchers at New York University School of Medicine in New York City and collaborators at other institutions. Such a protective effect, if proven, falls far short of completely safeguarding individuals who carry a single copy of the gene mutation from the risk of HIV infection.... [tags: HIV and AIDS]

HIV Essay
- HIV Like the majority of the American population I have lived in a cloud of ignorance about the HIV and AIDS crisis. I have never know anyone close to me that has been infected with either of the two viruses. So when the option to research something to do with sexuality arouse I felt this would definitely further my education about a lethal killer that is roaming this earth. Since I knew next to nothing about this topic I will start from the begging of the disease and discuss where it's at now.... [tags: HIV and AIDS]

Essay on HIV and AIDS
- HIV and AIDS The AIDS and HIV virus is a very dangerous disease that sees no race, no color, no gender, no economic background and not even a specific age group. It can affect anyone, at any time if they put themselves in a situation where they could be at risk. AIDS stands for what is called acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The virus causes the body's immune system to break down and become useless in fighting illness and bacteria. Even a common cold could lead to the death of a person affected with the AIDS virus.... [tags: HIV and AIDS]

HIV Essay
- HIV Many eyebrows raised late in 1979, when the then unkown HIV virus raised its ugly head. The first two cases of the rare cancer, Karposis Sarcoma was diagnosed in two homosexual men in N>Y>C. About the same time in Los Angeles, several cases of the rare infection, Pneumocytis cariini pneumonia were being treated. Incidences of these strange diseases and infections were sky-rocketting around the country. The disease was effecting mostly young gay men in their 30's. There was no official name for the syndrome, but it was referred to by various names, GRID (gay related inmmune disease), Gay Cancer, and, "Community Acquired Syndrome".... [tags: STD, HIV, AIDS]

HIV Essay
- The HIV virus is a complex mix of various epidemics within several countries and regions of the world. It is unquestionably the most crucial public-health crisis of our time. Research has extended our understanding of how the virus reproduces, controls, and hides in a contaminated person. Even though our perception of pathogenesis and transmission of the virus has become more refined and prevention options have lengthened, a cure or protective vaccine remains intangible. In 1981, The New York Times published a detailed article about an outbreak of an unusual form of cancer among gay men in New York and California.... [tags: Health, Diseases, AIDS]

HIV/AIDS Essay
- HIV/AIDS No one can be certain about how or when the AIDS virus emerged. The closest related disease would be a simian immunodeficiency virus. This is where the suggestion arose that this disease was first contracted from a primate. It has also been thought that this once primate-only disease had evolved and somehow became transmitted to people. On June 5, 1981, the first report of AIDS hit the United States. The people weren't quite sure of what they were dealing with, so mistakenly, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention released an article concerning a strange outbreak of pneumonia within the male homosexual community.... [tags: HIV and AIDS]